CIP A 2005 XX International Symposium, 26 September - 01 October. 2005, Torino, Italy 
FUSION OF 3D INFORMATION FOR EFFICIENT MODELING OF CULTURAL 
HERITAGE SITES WITH OBJECTS 
V. Valzano 3 , A. Bandiera 3 , J.-A. Beraldin b , M. Picard b , S.F. El-Hakim b , G. Godin b , E. Paquet b , M. Rioux b 
3 SIBA Coordination, University of Lecce, LE, Italy, 73100, siba@siba2.unile.it 
b IIT, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ont, Canada, K1A OR6 
KEY WORDS: Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Photogrammetry, Photo-realism, Multisensor 
ABSTRACT 
This paper presents the work that was accomplished in preparing multimedia products for cultural heritage interpretation and 
entertainment. Data fusion techniques were applied to three cases: the remains of Temple C of Selinunte, Sicily, the Byzantine Crypt 
of Santa Cristina, Apulia and a bronze sculpture from the 6th century BC found in Ugento, Apulia. It is shown that threedimensional 
modeling from range data coupled to photo-realistic texture mapping is an effective way to present the spatial information for 
environments and artefacts. Spatial sampling and range measurement uncertainty considerations are addressed by giving the results 
of some tests on different range cameras. Three-dimensional (3D) information generated by photogrammetric and CAD modeling 
complements the approach. Results on a CDROM, a DVD, virtual 3D theatre, holograms, video animations and web 
pages have been prepared for these projects. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1 General 
When describing and explaining the history of a heritage site or 
an artefact, the use of spatial information becomes very 
important in order to facilitate an understanding of that 
particular site. In many cases, one has to model complex 
environments. These are composed of several objects with 
various characteristics and it is essential to combine data from 
different sensors and information from different sources. There 
is no single approach that works for all types of environment 
and at the same time is fully automated and satisfies the 
requirements of every application. A general approach based on 
sensor fusion techniques combines models created from 
multiple images, single images, range sensors, known shapes, 
CAD drawings, existing maps, survey data, and GPS data (El- 
Hakim et al., 2005). The main objective of the fusion is to 
minimize the impact of uncertainties in order to get the most out 
of the multi-sensor platform. 
1.2 Sites description 
Two sites presented here are aimed at the general public and to 
a certain degree to the expert. To achieve these goals, the 
integration of both photogrammetric and CAD modeling was 
used to complement the approach presented above. The first site 
is the Byzantine Crypt known as the Crypt of Santa Cristina, 
which is located in Carpignano (LE), Italy. Results on a 
CDROM, a DVD, virtual 3-D theatre, holograms and video 
animations have been prepared for this project. Some of these 
results are shown in Section 2. The second site is Temple C of 
Selinunte, Sicily. For the acquisition of 3D information, both 
laser scanning and digital photographs using a calibrated 
camera/lens were used. Three-dimensional modeling was 
performed using two different 3D laser scanners, 
photogrammetry and CAD. At the moment the museum room 
containing artefacts from the site in Selinunte was modeled 
using a mixture of the above-mentioned technologies and later 
this year, work will start on building a CAD reconstruction from 
historical information of temple C of the Acropolis of Selinunte 
and a CDROM will be prepared. The 3D model of that room is 
shown in wire-mesh on Figure 1. Section 3 presents more 
details about the reconstruction process. The third example 
which is described in Section 4 pertains to the modeling of a 
bronze sculpture known as the Zeus of Ugento, Italy (now part 
of the collection at the museum of Taranto, Italy). The sculpture 
measures about 71.5 cm (height) x 45 cm (hand-to-hand) * 18 
cm (back-to-torso). The surface around the head is characterized 
by fine incisions and decorations. A highresolution 3D model 
(without color) was acquired with a highresolution laser scanner 
in order to target the expert user. This paper ends with some 
concluding remarks about the potential of modeling as-built 
reality using the fusion of 3D data obtained from 
complementary techniques. 
Figure 1. Multi-resolution 3D model of the Selinunte room. 
2. VIRTUALIZING A BYZANTINE CRYPT 
2.1 Modeling techniques used for the project 
We opted to represent the Byzantine Crypt of Santa Cristina 
(Carpiniana project) using both photogrammetric techniques for 
TM 
the outside (using ShapeCapture software), and, for the inside 
dense 3D laser scanner information combined with high 
resolution color images. Irregularly shaded walls covered with a 
number of fairly well preserved frescoes made us decide to 
model the inside with a laser scanner. During the course of 
history, a Baroque altar was added (1775 AD) along with three